Why Guatemala is one of the worst places in the world to be a child

Guatemala is victim of one of the world's longest civil conflicts - its 36
years of war leaving a deep scar in society, in which violence was
normalised. Actor Michael Sheen travelled to speak to some of the
children being helped by Unicef

A picture of Keneth is proudly displayed on the table when I meet his mother, father and three siblings. From his photograph I can see that he was a beautiful, happy child who was clearly loved by his family.

Keneth disappeared on 16 December 2009, when he was just four years old. A week later his body was found beheaded in the yard of a nearby house. He had been murdered by two women who had intended to sell Keneth for $1,250.

His father, Guillermo, quietly tells me about what happened to him. As a father I just can't comprehend what it must be like to lose your child but for your child to be killed in such horrific circumstances is unfathomable.

Guillermo explains to me how his family are not the only ones to lose a child to violence and that this is happening every day in Guatemala.

Before I came to Guatemala, Unicef told me about the high levels of physical abuse and sexual violence inflicted on children.

Victim of one of the world's longest civil conflicts, its 36 years of war left a deep scar in society, in which violence was normalised, and law and order collapsed. In all, two per cent of the entire population was killed or "disappeared, another ten per cent displaced, and killings of all sorts began to pass unnoticed and unpunished.

The country now has the second highest rate of child murder in the world - only El Salvador is worse.

In the first two months of 2015, 848 children alone have gone missing. But nothing could have prepared me for the stories I heard – acts of violence against children that are so grotesque that it pains you to hear them.

Michael Sheen plays football with girls living at the refuge Refugio de la Ninez

I met Keneth's family at the Survivors Centre in Guatemala City, which was set up by an incredible woman, Norma Cruz. Her own daughter Claudia was sexually abused by her stepfather when she was seven years old. Having witnessed the pain her own child suffered, Norma set up the Survivors Centre to help other victims of physical and sexual abuse. Here, a team of psychologists provide counselling to children who have been abused to help them try and overcome their experiences. They also offer invaluable legal, financial and psychological support to the families of the victims.

Norma and Claudia show me around an exhibition which tells the stories of children who have been murdered. Large crosses display photographs and clothes of little boys and girls who have been the victims of atrocious crimes. Jenniffer was killed by her mother when she was three years old for eating some food she wasn't supposed to – she had over 50 wounds on her tiny body. Luisa was raped by several men and subsequently died as a result of the injuries she had received. Her body was later set on fire; she was three years old. Three sisters Wendy (11), Heidy (9) and Diana (8) were murdered on their way to school, their bodies left, unrecognisable, in a ditch. The stories go on and on.

Unicef has set up the Alba Keneth alert, named in honour of Keneth and a little girl, Alba Michelle Espa? a, who was also kidnapped and murdered.

Before the adoption of the Alba Keneth law in 2010, it was standard to wait 36 to 72 hours before a search was activated for a missing child. Now the search is begun within half an hour.

Violence here permeates all aspects of society and it seems there are few places where it is safe to be a child. Each day, 22 cases of sexual abuse are reported. At the Prosecutor's Office I meet Marisol (15) who is from Tecpán, a town about two hours from Guatemala City. Dressed in a brightly coloured traditional Mayan outfit, she says that when she grows up she would like to become a psychologist so she can help other girls who have been abused. Marisol was repeatedly raped by her father and after escaping from her home later gave evidence in a "Gesell Chamber", a child-friendly room where children can safely give their testimonies. Before the Gesell Chambers were introduced with Unicef support in Guatemala impunity rates were staggeringly high – in 2010 just four per cent of child abuse cases resulted in a sentence. Due to Marisol's testimony her father is now serving seven years in prison.

Later I accompany Marisol to the Children's Refuge, where she lived for seven months whilst the trial was taking place. The refuge can house up to 25 girls and helps them overcome the sexual abuse they have endured. The place is full of real hope and I can see that through the specialist programme, which has been devised in partnership with Unicef, the girls are slowly regaining their self-respect, dignity and trust. I'm given a tour of the refuge by two girls, Ana (16) and Rosita (14). You would never know these girls had been sexually abused. The only evidence being Ana's three month year old baby who she carries in her arms.

This year, world leaders will agree new global goals that will guide world development for the next 15 years – the so called Sustainable Development Goals. It is vital that these goals include a robust target to end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence and torture against children, so that this becomes a priority for all countries. This will help unlock the action and investment needed to prevent violence against children, support survivors, and ensure they get justice.

This toy, often a symbol of childhood, isn't used for play but is used as a tool for children to show where they were abused in their own homes. We need to stop this happening. Every child has the right to be happy, to be safe and to be protected.

We cannot allow violence to rob them of these rights.

*The actor Michael Sheen travelled to Guatemala with Unicef

Unicef UK is calling on the leaders of political parties to help end violence against children. Add your voice at unicef.org.uk/violence